Pyramid puzzle



Dec. 15I 1925. 1,565.901

F. W. BRANDT PYRAMID PUZZLE Filed Sept. 8. -1925 KWB RANUI' attain, 1

Patented Dec. l5, 1925.

UNITED STATES FRANK W. BRANDT, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

PYRAMID PUZZLE.

Application led September 8, 1925. Serial No. 54,984.

fo (dl whom t may concer/L.'

Be it known that I, FRANK W. llmNn'r, a citizen of they United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, Sta-te of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in a Pyramid Puzzle, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a game or puzzle, and the object of theinvention is to provide a simple combination of elements adapted to bepyramided in nested relationship and shifted one by one into superposedpositions to form a second pyramid according to given or set rules whichdemand much thought and skill, or in different words, are puzzling anddifficult to solve.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a top view of the complete puzzleor game,

'and Fig. 2 is a side view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of thebase member of the puzzle, and Fig. 4 is a. perspective view of a few ofthe pyramid elements.

The puzzle comprises a fiat rectangular base member 2, formed with threesquare depressions 3, 4, and 5,l spaced at equaldistanees from eachother lengthwise thereof. Preferably these depressions are relativelyshallow and may be duplicated on the bottom as well asthe top of basemember 2. The bottom 6 of each depression is flat and the four sidesprovide low shoulders or ridges 7 adapted to confine a thin squareshapedbuildmg element 8 of the same size as said depression Without lateralmovement therein. Building element 8 is also provided with a square andshallow recess or depression 9in its top, and a similar recess 10 may beformed in its bottom, whereby a narrow shoulder or ridge 11 isformedparallel with the top and bottom border edges of the element,preferably very close thereto to permit only a small edge portion of theelement to be exposed to view when a second square element 12 of theexact size as depression 9 is nested therein. Element 12 is alsorecessed on both sides in the same way as base element 8 to nest a thirdelement 13 df similar formation but orsmaller dimensions, and thus inturn a series ofV other recessed elements of graduated sizes marked 14,15, 16, 17 and 18, together with a crown member 19 to form the apex ofthe pyramided elements. The differences in sizes of the respectiveyramid building sections or elements permit the elements to bedistinguished from -each other, but any given pair of companion nestingelements can only be distinguished from each other by close observationand inspectionwhen separated because of the slight dill'erence in sizeand the use of a very narrow bead or ridge 11, which it should beobserved is or' exactly' the same width and appearance in eachl squareelement. The series of building elements may be alike in color or ofvarious colors, or the opposite recesses in each building square orelement may be colored diversely to mislead and make the puzzle moredifiicult to solve.

A single base member and a single set of pyramid forming sections orelements are used in combination in playing the game, or in other wordssolving the puzzle; the object being to rebuild the sectional cone orpyramid on the same base without transferring more than a singlebuilding clement from one place to another, at a time, using only thetwo auxiliary recesses in the base and the recesses in the upperlnostbuilding elements in which to deposit the elements successively, andnever depositing a larger element upon a smaller element. For example,in starting, crown member 19 may be removed from element 18 anddeposited in the central recess 4 in base member 2; then element 18 maybe removed from element 17 and seated in the end recess 3 in base member2; and now crown member 19 may be placed on element 18 to provide avacant recess for element 17. The operations henceforth becomeincreasingly difficult because only sin le building elements may betransferred rom place to place and never a larger one on a smaller one.However, it is possible to shift all nine building elements one by oneand rebuild the pyramid completely on base member 2 according to therule given but only by skill and cleverness in combining the rightmoves.

Vhat I claim is:

1. A game or puzzle, comprising a base member having a series of basestations for mounting a sectional pyramid thereon, in combination with aseries of thin flat elements of graduated sizes adapted to be superposedto form a pyramid, each element beingslightly smaller than the elementupon which it is seated and exposing a small border portion of the uppersurface of the lower element when seated thereon either obversely orreversely.

2. A game or puzzle, comprising a base member having a plural number ofplaces thereon adapted to seat a series of building elements, incombination with a set of buildv ing elements .of graduated sizesconstructed 3. A game or puzzle, comprising a base vmember havingseparate base stations thereon for a sectional pyramid, in combinationwith a sectional pyramid, each section having a facial recess adapted tonest a smaller section, and a crown member for\the top section.

il. A game or puzzle, comprising a base member having several topseating places outlined by shoulders, in combination With a sectionalconc having a base section adapted to seat upon each shouldered placealternatively, and other sections of graduated `sizes havinginterlocking connection directly with each other.

5. A game or puzzle, comprising a base member having a set ofcorrespondingly shaped recesses in its top surface, in combination witha sectional cone having recesses in cach section to nest a smaller.companion sectionVaiid the base section being of a size to nest withineither one of the base member recesses.

(3. A game or puzzle, comprising a base member having a set ofalternative building seats forerecting a 4pyramid thereon, incombination with a pyramid made of horizontal sections of graduatedsizes, each section having its top and bottom surfaces recessed andinvertible to permit another similar section to be nested therein.

lin testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FRANK WV. BRANDT.

